Most of us have memories of watching slasher films as teens, with its cathartic unleashing of our fears and torments put into a palpable but safe format for us to exorcise. Each generation has theirs (Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream). They are a right of passage. Perhaps its fitting the latest entry into this legacy is a streaming series, the way the newest generation consumes movies.
The Fear Street Trilogy is an homage to teen slasher films of the past from the 70s through to today. A group of teens are hunted by a knife wielding killer, some meet gruesome deaths, others become the heroes of the story, and there is a built in legacy element that usually develops over a series of films, here mapped out entirely as part of this experiment in tribute. And it's all packaged in a teen friendly, so not too gruesome with just the right amount of sex and violence to make it palatable, ready to consume, format that is all about the fun of the classic slasher genre.
There's a good story here. None of it is dumb or silly (at least not any more than it is supposed to be). Director Janiak does a great job of capturing the tropes of the genre while investing us in the characters and telling us a fun, bloody story. Each chapter has its own feel, set in different times and capturing the magic of each era's conventions, but each contributing to the overall main story. Interestingly the progression moves us back through time so we get the most modern story first and the events of the past are revealed more slowly.
In the first part, set in 1994, and featuring a soundtrack that won't let you forget the mid-90s, there are all the hallmarks one would expect. The opening sacrifice scene, the set up of the main cast who will be chased by the killers, especially the heroine (cause it's always a girl at the centre of these stories) who saves the day, and the twist and mystery that gives the story its edge. It is set in a suburban community where teens are tormented by a slasher, just like the classics of that era (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer) evoking the nostalgia for that time. Plus there is just enough of a tease for the next chapter which will bring us back to 1978 and set us in the world of a summer camp terrorized by a homicidal maniac.
Part Two 1978 has all the killer at a summer camp fun and hi-jinx one would expect. With its 70s soundtrack and wardrobe it is an adoring homage to the Friday the 13th style slasher films a generation grew up on. But it also connects quite nicely to the main story which started with 1994 and sets up the final instalment which brings us all the way back to the beginning in 1666... as any good middle chapter should. Now all that's left is to flash back to the past and the origin of all the evil in the final Part Three.
The final chapter takes us back to the 17th century and sets us right in the heart of the witch hysteria. The "twist" (not really hard to figure out) here is interesting because the slasher genre has already struggled with a kind of brutal but complicated misogyny that revels in brutality towards women, especially attractive sexually active young women, while also elevating one idealized woman to the status of hero. Witch trials are also of coarse based in hatred of women and the attempted control of women through violence. As the plot unfolds we discover the curses we have been following for the first two movies is based on patriarchal violence. The centring of queer women in the earlier films wasn't just a device but central to the story which explores this evil as a male domination which has to be overcome. All of this makes Fear Street not just escapist entertainment but a comment on how gender violence has been woven through American history so thoroughly.
The point of the films is to bring us back to our memories and love of these films while also making it accessible for the Gen Z audience who is just discovering this genre. Fear Street is a love letter. It's not a spoof, doesn't go into being self-aware, and doesn't try to deconstruct the meaning of these horror films or our twisted society. Fear Street just embraces what it is for what it is. Like the book series its based on it attempts to create a very specific mood and tone. In so many ways it was a refreshing and surprisingly fun roller coaster. You'll scream. You'll giggle and be grossed out. You'll have the kind of cathartic good time that a good slasher film can provide, all within the safe boundaries of a PG-13 horror film. Generally it's a bloody good time.
Fear Street Part One 1994, Part Two 1978, Part Three 1666
Staring: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger
Director: Leigh Janiak
Writers: Phil Graziacei, Leigh Janiak
No comments:
Post a Comment